Invited Commentary: Cross-Sectional Studies and Causal Inference—It’s Complicated
Tracie A. Barnett, Anita Koushik, Tibor Schuster
Abstract
In this issue of the Journal, Savitz and Wellenius (Am J Epidemiol. 2023;192(4):514-516) discuss the contribution of cross-sectional studies to causal inference when the data are used to address etiological research questions. We elaborate on their thoughts with a discussion of the conditions needed for addressing etiology with the cross-sectional design, using a modern causal inference lens.
Topics & Concepts
Causal inferenceInferenceCross-sectional studyCausality (physics)EtiologyMedicinePsychologyComputer scienceArtificial intelligencePsychiatryPathologyPhysicsQuantum mechanicsAdvanced Causal Inference TechniquesHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeStatistical Methods and Bayesian Inference